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About the Blog
Japan Apprentice is a two-part blog presenting theoretical and practical perspectives on traditional Japanese architecture with new insights into its origins, symbolism and depth. The prologues introduce traditional features from the standpoint of their roots in relation to Japanese culture and its gods, while the follow-up journal-esque posts flesh out this overview by chronicling the adventures of Evan Hutchison, a Japanese-American dual citizen, in his grandmother's home in the rural town of Satsuma.
These two parts offer alternating posts for the duration of the blog. The first part analyzes the six main elements of traditional Japanese architecture, with focus on not only their structural benefits, but their evolution as products of Japanese beliefs about the natural world. These accounts will be supplemented in the second part by Evan's photographic evidence of the features in question in and on actual village residences from lower- to higher-end structures. This firsthand summary of the prologue will be followed by a retelling of his journey, including case studies of his grandmother's home and others in the area, detailed exploration of the surrounding area, and an apprenticeship under a Japanese master carpenter in the restoration of an abandoned hillside cottage.
Note: The prologues of Japan Apprentice were excerpted from an unpublished manuscript, entitled The Continuity of Culture, by Gordon Hutchison.
Prologue Schedule
Week 2: Culture and the Gods: Japan vs. the Christian West
Week 3: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Wood
Week 4: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Wood Part 2
Week 5: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Interiors
Week 6: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Interiors - Tatami (“straw flooring mats”)
Week 7: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Interiors - Roofing & Engawa (Japanese veranda)
Week 8: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Interiors - Genkan (entrance foyer) Part 1
Week 9: Features of Traditional Japanese Architecture: Interiors - Genkan Part 2
About the Writer
Evan has shown continued interest in Japanese culture and architecture since spending a year in Japanese kindergarten and his first trip to Japan that year. He speaks, reads and writes Japanese, and has been back to Japan multiple times, but this is his first hands-on ‘vocational’ training. Evan recently completed his sophomore year as an architecture major at Appalachian State University, having played a leadership role in the team that took First Place in the Retrofit Division of the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon international competition. He currently plans to specialize in sustainable architecture, and wants to do work retrofitting existing houses to help both his community and the environment.
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